Long ago, two great gourds grew at Meuang Thaeng (now Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam). As the gourds grew in size, sounds could be heard from inside their thick rinds. Khun, divine rulers, pierced the skin of one of the gourds with a red-hot poker, and out of the charred hole poured the dark-skinned Lao Thoeng (Upland Lao). The khun employed a knife to slice a hole in the other gourd, through which marched the lighter-skinned Tai-Lao (Lowland Lao). The gods sent Khun Borom to rule over both peoples, during which time he had seven sons. Khun Borom sent these sons out to establish seven new kingdoms, scattered over the Tai highlands in Vietnam, the Xishuangbanna area of southern China, the Shan state in Burma, and areas in Thailand and Laos. The oldest son, Khun Lo,
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